My Tawni turns.....14! Yep..in just a few short hours my baby will be 14. I can not believe it ! I have often had a shutter run down my spine....sometimes I even break out in a cold sweat when I think of the teenage years....one year down and I am happy to report...that we have not shipped her off to boot camp. Actually, I am very proud of her. She has stepped up to the plate and started really pitching in around the house with me working, she does her school work...even without someone there watching..and I always have reports of her refusing to do something she knows I wouldn't want her to...even when she could have gotten away with it! She was awesome in Peru and while feeding the homeless in Everett a few weeks ago....She has a sweet heart and I love her more than words can say.....the only problem I have with her...she's growing up to fast.

WE LOVE YOU TAWNI VERN GIRL !!!! HAPPY 14th BIRTHDAY !!!

Having fun with the family in Montana!! We hope you and yours are haveing a wonderful Christmas and we pray you are blessed in the coming New YEAR !!!

I had a habit when I was young ....I would adopt families....Have you ever seen "what about Bob?" the one where the crazy patient moves in on his Doctors family...well ...that was me...anyways...this picture is of one such unsuspecting family....They are the Howard family of Pocatello Idaho. They were my family during some rough teenage years.....Darlene (the mom) was my sunday school teacher at church, her son was one of my first offical boyfriends (after the age of parental concent to date), their daughter Pam was my best friend.....I love them dearly and to this day keep in touch though I do not get to see them nearly enough!!! I am telling you all this to ask for prayer.... Walt (the Dad) fell and severly injured his back.....he has been flown to Colorado to see specialist there....I am unsure of the details but the whole family could use your prayers.....I know alot of people think..."I don't even know them..." thats ok...God does...and He knows how to help better than any of us would....so when you are done reading this...PLEASE...say a little prayer....

What if?

What if God couldn’t take the time to bless us today because

we couldn’t take the time to thank Him yesterday?

What if God decided to stop leading us tomorrow because

we didn’t follow Him today?

What if we never saw another flower bloom because

we grumbled when God sent the rain?

What if God didn’t walk with us today because

we failed to recognize it as His day?

Wat if God took away the Bible tomorrow because

we would not read it today?

What if God took away His message because

we failed to listen to the messenger?

What if God didn’t send His only begotten Son because

He wanted us to be prepared to pay the price for sin?

What if the door of the church was closed because

we did not open the door of our heart?

What if God stopped loving and caring for us because

we failed to love and care for others?

What if God would not hear us today because

we would not listen to Him?

What if God answered our prayers the way

we answer His call to service?

What if God met our needs the way we give Him our lives?


Author unknown

HELP !!!

The Cucjens have been asked to evacuate their home ! They had to leave without most of there belongings...and even their money!! They run on a cash system, so they can not just go to the bank and withdraw......and it is looking like their home will not make it through the fires !!! They also have a couple of Birthdays coming up for the kids (I am going to assume the twins..)this week !!! Can you even imagine??? Maybe losing everything you own in one day??? No money ? and 5 kids ?? If you are interested in helping Kimi found a way to wire them money through Walmart of all places! She has been sending it to the Mercy Creek Walmart on Arrow Drive in San Degio. If you need more specific info call Kimi !!!

The Irish Man returns ! With a family.....

Hey.....I got a strange comment on one of my posts...from a stranger in a far away land....unsure of who this mysterious commentator was...I bravely clicked on the name...and what did I find??? TONY !! Yep, it is TRUE! Tony finally decided to join us here in blog land !!! I have added a link to my link list....but I am sure some of you have noticed strange comments as well......don't be alarmed. Welcome to our world Tony & Maria ! We are glad you are here....

Refiners Fire

Someone passed this along to me and I wanted to pass it along to you!

Allow this to richly bless your day - The day that the Lord has made.

Malachi 3:3a says: “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.”

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.
That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn’t mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: “He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.” She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, “How do you know when the silver is fully refined?” He smiled at her and answered, “Oh, that’s easy — when I see my image in it.”

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

Weekend getaway.......

Last weekend our family snuck off to Birch Bay for a 2 night stay at a Trendwest resort. We had bought a "trial" membership almost 2 years ago and our points were about to expire..so we decided we better use them.....It was awesome to get away if only for a little while..here are the pics!!

My girls.....

Tawni......My Mermaide.......
An afternoon of fun in the sun at Lake Goodwin !

My Sweet Kenzie

VBS is here !!!!

This year our theme is Dinosaurs !! It is a really cool program, with skits and music to match ! Come and explore Rex's Dino cave or the Jungle room !!!



It's Aug 8,9, & 10th !!! 9:30-12:30 !!!

Ages 4-12 !!!



Christian Worship Center

18008 Bothell Everett Hwy Suite H

Bothell, Wa 98223



To register call 425-478-2253
Leave a message with the names & ages of each child !

Why I choose to say NO to Harry Potter.....

In response to a recent post on a dearly beloved friends blog(feel free to read it here)....I am going to voice my OPINION on the whole Harry Potter debate. I have held my tongue for a very long time, because I really felt it was up to each parent....and though I might not agree with their choice, I was not going to condemn them . This is an area that I have struggled with for a LLLOOONNNGG time. Not only with Harry Potter...but....dare I say it?? Narnia....Lord of the Rings......the list goes on......and I will admit that I have justified the Narnia and Lord of the Rings for years......but I am finding more and more...that I don't feel right about that.

Harry Potter has brought all of this to a head for me. I guess it comes down to this:

"When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who:
* practices witchcraft
* is a soothsayer or a sorcerer
* interprets omens
* conjures spells
* is a medium or a spiritist
* calls up the dead
For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord…." (Deuteronomy 18:9-13)
All "these things" are demonstrated in the Harry Potter books. These stories are every bit as spiritual as Christian literature, but the spiritual power they promote comes from other gods. If you treasure God's truth, may I suggest you encourage your children not to read these books? I know such parental intervention sounds grossly offensive, in fact, downright muggleish, to children who love Harry’s magical world and reject Biblical absolutes. Yet, just as "progressive" leaders fear the influence of Biblical truth on budding world citizens, so Christians parents need to guard their children against all kinds of occult "counsel:"

Either we believe the Bible for what it says or we don't.......There are so many other books that my child can read that involve or encourage-"relationships, laying your life down for those you love, choosing the hard road, doing the right thing even when it is painful, trust, discipline, faith, failing and then getting up again and becoming a better person, in a word, redemption. This book is about finding out your purpose and then fulfilling it, even when you don't have all the answers and allowing others to walk along side of you because none of us can do this thing called "life" alone.

PLEASE DO NOT GET OFFENDED HERE:

I wish parents would read the Bible with their kids with the same enthusiasm and passion as they have the Harry Potter books! Then maybe our kids would be running around praying for people instead of casting spells on them!!! Maybe our kids would be just as excited about the fact that the KING of KINGS lives in their heart and wants to use them to do even more powerful things that Harry Potter could even dream of doing!!! Maybe their kids would want to emulate real hero's !!

Our kids see enough and hear enough of things that they shouldn't without me adding to it with things that "aren't that bad"

"Everything is permissible- but not everything is beneficial" 1Cor 10:23

Remember, this is spiritual warfare. God's enemy fights as hard as ever to win the hearts and loyalties of our children -- and he has added all kinds of high-tech tools to his armory.

To resist his strategies, they first need to understand the Biblical world view. That's why God told His people long ago to base all conversation -- day and night -- on His unchanging truth:

"These words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit... walk... lie down, and when you rise up." Deut. 6:6-7

Everything we say must reflect the reality of God, His love and sovereignty, His promises and His warnings. To prove that our God is far greater than the pantheon of alternatives, our lives must demonstrate faith in the midst of difficulties and His triumph in the midst of turmoil. This is possible, not by our own strength, but by His power and grace. Then, seeing His greatness, children learn to trust His promises.


P.S. Just for the record, I told Tawni when she turned 13 that the choice was up to her if she wanted to read it, and the Lord the Rings she still has yet to see or read as well. I gave her the facts as I saw them and told her she can make this decision for herself. Many people that I know, love and respect do not feel there is anything wrong with the book.....but I have to stick with my convictions.

Were....BBBAAACCCKKKK !!!

Tawni and I on the banks of the Amazon!
Tawni talking to a woman at the market(above) a little girl prays to receive Jesus! (below)
You missed us...come on...admit it!! We finially made it back Wed. morning after a 50 hour trip home !! We are still recouping.....Peru really kicked our butt's ! We had a great time and some awesome things happened ! I will be posting the official story later......when I am feeling more myself !

Can you hear it??? The clock is ticking...time is running out !!!

We have good news and bad news.....
Good news....we have all the money we need for Peru!
Bad News...IT'S STILL IN YOUR POCKET!!!


Only 2 more days!!! 2 more days and we go to Peru!!! I am excited and....well ...a little scared. But I heard a quote the other day that said " Do it Scared" so I am gonna do it scared....not gonna let my queesey stomach and knocking knee's stop me......Keep us in prayer !! Thanks for all your support !! We could still use more if there is anyone out there who wants to help...we would greatly appreciate it !!!

WHAT'S YOUR EXCUSE?

DID THE DOG EAT YOUR CAR?

WE DIDN'T SEE YOUR MUG TODAY !

Ok..it was kinda slow today! We made about $200.00 today.......we still need about 1,100 EACH!

Come on you know you need more junk...and we have some good stuff!! There are pictures below to entice you !!!

RUMMAGE SALE !!!

Just a reminder that today and tomarrow we are doing the church rummage sale to make money for our mission trip to Peru !!! Tawni and I are heading up the work today !!! We have TONS of great stuff !!!!

-A Pond

-Beautiful Entertainment Center

-Oak kitchen cabnets

-Law mower

-Ski's

-Snowboards

-Pasta makers

-T.V.

-LARGE upright freezer

-Stackable washer/dryer

So come on by and chek it out !!

GOOD NEWS !!!

Seth is ok!!! The 2 area's of bleeding have stopped ! They are letting him go home sometime today ! The bruises will take about 2 weeks to absorb !! Keep praying for a quick healing, no headaches, memory stuff...ect. !!!

Thanks for all your prayers !!!

PRAYER!!!!!!!

I just got word from Jen Dodge that their son Seth was in an accident while playing basketball. He got hit in such a way that it flipped him and he landed on his head. He has a sever concussion and bleeding on his brain, they are taking him to Harborview. PLEASE PRAY ! On top of all that ..a few days ago T.J. got hit in the nose and he has a fractured nose! When it rains it pours !

My Grandma.....

Isn't she beautiful? This is my Grandma......I just love this picture of her. She is not only beautiful, but smart,witty and strong. I love her so much.

Last night they had to rush her to the hospital in an ambulance. She called today to let me know she was ok....only to find out no one had bothered to call me. Anyways, she is still kinda loopy from it all, so all I know is she had quit taking her thyroid medicine......and it has caused other problems....so now they want to put in a pace maker, but she doesn't want to have it.....

Anyways, I tell you all this to ask you to pray for her......I love her and I need her.Pray for me too.....

Ummm...I think I will stay home.....

Oh..My Oh My......Well...it is kinda like this...Jim finally got my car fixed on Sunday .....Tue night.....it broke down again while I was at our church in Bothell....so I had it towed home and as we pull up the driver says..."I've towed to this house before! Do you own a green truck too??" Anyways.....Jim fixed it this morning for me.....and it broke down again......in Lynnwood......really embarrassing part...more embarrassing than calling AAA two days in a row.......it was the same tow truck driver!!

OOOOHHHH....but ya know what ??? Through all this I have NOT lost my peace or my joy....normally these things would have frazzled me......I would be so stressed I couldn't see straight. But God has really been reminding me to keep my eyes on Him, no matter what storm is raging... He can get me through. I heard someone say " A person that is easily angered ...is easily controlled." And I think that applied to alot of things....easily stressed, easily depressed......So when I worry...I just say a quick little prayer and move my thoughts to the things I am most grateful for!! I am thankful I have a nice Suburban ( even if it is broke) I am thankful I have a husband who can fix such things ( with a limited amount of swearing) I am SO grateful I get AAA as a Christmas gift every year from my sister (BEST money she has EVER spent) I am grateful I can give me daughter joy..(she just about wet her pants when I told her it was the same driver!) I am thankful I have friends to share my trials with !!

The blonde babe's birthday !!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU..........ok so I won't sing...that will be my birthday gift to you my friend !! I hope you have a great birthday and an even more wonderful year ! You are my movie buddy, my sounding board, an inspiration and I am so jealous of you !!!
LOVE YOU my Kristina!

HAPPY 40th BIRTHDAY JIMMY !!!!!!!

It's official .....I am married to an OLD man!!! I know it's hard to believe!

Happy Birthday Jimmy! You are a strange man that I have yet to figure out.....but I love you! You have a big heart, and make me laugh... I don't know what I would do without you.

MY MATER( 99 Suburban) IS SICK........Please pray that Dr. Jim will find a cure quickly and it won't be to expensive !!!! 2 cars in 2 days.....a record even for me.......

Well......we didn't make it to California. Do you ever have times when everything in the universe is working against you??? For months I have been trying to save for this trip.....and everything that could come and soak up every last little cent did.....I mean stupid things like...both pairs of my pants riped last week....(I only have 2 pairs of pants), brakes going out, teeth problems..........huuuuuuu anyways.....I didn't have the money to fly..so I reserved a rental car....then when we didn't have the money for that...we borrowed a car......it broke down . So I made it home with ALOT of prayer, and thank goodness it is something Jim can fix.....but there goes what money I did have for gas.......aaaaaahhhhhh. Pray for me I am so frustrated I could spit.......

So Miss. Lizzy ....I am SOOOOOOO Sorry!! I would give anything to be there with you and celebrate this AWESOME occasion ! You know I love you but I am going to tell you anyways ! I love you and I am so proud of you...life has not been easy but you keep going.......You are a wonderful girl......!

We are some difficulties getting the Mission Fish account set up...so there will be no auctions with the ribbon right now....I am however giving half of everything made on ebay to the mission team ! I will let you know when we get the "Mission Fish" issues resolved !

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE......

PERU !!!

WE (Tawni & I ) are going to Peru!

That's right PERU ! A team from our church is meeting up with teams from all over the U.S. to combine our time , talents and resources !

Our trip is planned from July 14-24rd ! THAT IS COMING UP QUICK! I know this is short notice but we need your help getting there!
We will be doing different fund raisers in the next 2 months but there is one we are starting now and we need your help!

We will be selling things through my EBay store( Tatiana's Trinkets) , with the help of a company named MISSION FISH. Mission Fish takes the money from the sales and gives it directly to the non profit of your choice...in this case that would be Christian Worship Center....... this is where you come in...I need items to sell ...and I need people to SHOP...I know some of you are VERY good at that.....come on you know who you are !!! All you need to do is follow the link to my store and BUY BUY BUY !!! If you have stuff sitting around that you would consider donating....I can come and get them...or you can drop them off but the sooner we get things the better (as they will have more time to sell) So let me know if you have anything that you can donate (tax deductible) I will include a list at the end of this post... OH...ALL THE ITEMS THAT ARE FOR THE MISSION TRIP WILL HAVE A LITTLE RIBBON SYMBOL BY THEM

All the other items go to support my chocolate habit, and to help us open our home to foster care children ( I desperately need to increase my slave labor force!)

Tawni and I need Approx. $1,500 a piece ($3,000 total) That is for everything !! Though I am looking for a SMALL digital camera/video camera that I can take !!! On our Mexico trip 2 years ago I took disposable camera's and the pictures were AWFUL !!!

MOST of all we need your prayers...we want God to be with us every step of the way ! We also need His grace to learn as much Spanish as possible before we go, and we both have a goal of losing some extra baggage (if you get my drift) before we leave...SO PRAY PRAY PRAY !!!


List of easily sell able items:
Computer software, Baby clothes, Toys, Video games, WILLEMS ARTWORK (HINT HINT HINT KRISTINA KLUMPER) , audio books, games, HOMESCHOOLING STUFF, TOOLS, old grill cheese sandwiches with a picture of the virgin Mary on them....(NO REALLY IT HAPPENED!)
You name it!! It is worth a try...all the items that don't sell before July 1st will be put in a garage sale....if it still doesn't sell we will re-list it on EBay and use it for future mission trips !!!

If you just want to donate hard cold cash...we take that too!! Contact me and I will let you know where to send it !!!

THANKS !!!!!

A.S.L.

HEY ALL !!


If any of you are interested in learing A.S.L.(American Sign Language) I just found an AWESOME site that is FREE !!! It is called A.S.L. University CHECK IT OUT !!!

Defining moments.........

This is a plate I painted for Amy on our 25th Anniversary !
This is the card I got it off of.......

They...(I am not completely sure who"they" are but "they" seem to know everything) say that every person has 5 defining moments, 5 moments that create or change their lives......32 years ago today I had one of those moments......It was the day I met Amy.....I was only 4 but I remember it like it was yesterday...we were instant friends....and though I moved out of the state when I was 12 we maintained a close relationship......she was the Abbot to my Costello...she was the Jelly to my peanut butter.....She is such a part of who I am.......

And in 2 days there will be another "defining day".....the second anniversary of the day I lost Amy to a grand mal seizure......I am sure I will not forget that day either.....

Update...and some cute pictures.....

Kenzie's surgery went well, the doctor thinks she might get good sight out of the eye.....so we will know in the next few months......These pictures are some cute ones I took the night before....

Bragging......

I CAN do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength !!!
Be strong and courageous, DO not be terrified, do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you WHEREVER you GO !!!
BLESS is the man who preservers under trial......

I just had to show you all what I have been up to.......I have been working on these for the past few months...(I did have some help)they are not completely done but I am so excited about having them this far !! They really add something to our kids room at church !!

I was trying to show that no matter what we face in life GOD is with us, as I was doing it God also showed me that He didn't save these godly men BEFORE they faced these awful things...but HE was there keeping them through each situation.....as they believed and depended on Him....He was faithful to make wonderful things happen for them !!!